World Trade Center Site Doc ’16 Acres’ Acquired by First Run Features

World Trade Center Site Doc '16 Acres' Acquired by First Run Features

First Run Features has acquired the North American rights for Richard Hankin’s documentary about the World Trade Center rebuilding project “16 Acres.” The film, which had its world premiere at the 2012 Zurich Film Festival, has played at more than a dozen film festivals worldwide since.

“16 Acres,” which is Hankin’s second as a director (he served as an editor on “Capturing the Friedmans,” “God Loves Uganda” and others), looks at the controversy, delays and politics that have complicated the effort to rebuild on the WTC site, encompassing more than a decade, 19 government agencies, a dozen projects and over $20 billion.

“It’s stating the obvious to say that ’16 Acres’ is one of the most important documentaries of recent years,” said First Run’s Marc Mauceri in the announcement. “Who would have thought a film about developers, politicians, and architects fighting over the design and development of a hallowed site could be so gripping? We’re proud to be working with the ’16 Acres’ team in bringing the film to audiences in North America.”

“Our core creative approach was to tell the story fundamentally as a first-person narrative — without any narration — told by the key players themselves,” added Hankin. “Many of them are true New York characters, and in many ways it’s a quintessentially New York story.”